


Blazing Seas

by RileeTheRiddler



Series: Blazing through the Dawn [1]
Category: One Piece
Genre: Akuma no Mi | Devil Fruit, Attempted Kidnapping, Family, Fluff, Gen, Pre-Canon, Self-Insert
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-04
Updated: 2021-02-04
Packaged: 2021-03-15 14:35:36
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,519
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29190915
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RileeTheRiddler/pseuds/RileeTheRiddler
Summary: It didn't take the girl long to realize where she was. She prided herself on her intelligence. Of course, one moment of stupidity in the middle of her home being burned to the ground rendered any supposed intelligence she could have claimed moot.She was just lucky to not be floating through the universe scattered into millions of pieces. She really needed to learn how to listen to her gut more often.
Series: Blazing through the Dawn [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2143131
Comments: 6
Kudos: 97





	Blazing Seas

**Author's Note:**

> Look, it's the 11th month of quarantine. I've read all the One piece self-inserts. ALL THEM BAD BOYS. I have no shame, no friends, and my 2 cats have been acting very suspicious lately. This is self indulgent fluff. Also, while not really a self insert, I am a sun/moon double gemini and I feel like my poor little OC really absorbed some of that energy. oops.

SUMMARY: girl gets reincarnated into One piece.

Was she freaking out?

Yes, yes she was.

Was the situation worthy of a freakout?

Yes, yes it fucking was.

She was a goddamned infant, in a weak little body, and being carted around by some lonely young woman who quite obviously had no clue what she was doing.

The girl remembered quite vividly that she’d had a life before this one. She recalled a mother, three younger siblings, her two cats, and thousands of other people with who she’d interacted throughout her life. Most of them strangers, as she’d never had a problem talking people up and then disappearing completely from their lives.

As a rule, the girl didn’t like people. She liked individuals. She thrived during intimate, one on one conversation with strangers at a bar. Ask her to cultivate and maintain a long-term relationship though, and she would fail miserably.

Her only friend was a beautiful soul she’d known since she was seven, whom she often went years without speaking to. They always clicked back together like two missing puzzle pieces though.

Now, in this strange new world with her strange new mother, the girl was without all she’d once known before.

Her new mother was nice enough. She was young, younger than the girl had been when she died. Barely out of her teens if the girl had to guess. She had short hair, dyed red, and a short and curvy figure. The girl could tell her new mother loved her dearly, but she could also tell her new mother wanted nothing more than to go out every night and party with her friends, especially now that she was no longer with child.

The girl frequently found herself in the care of an elderly neighbor who lacked grandkids of her own. She doted on the girl while her mother worked and snuggled with her at night while her mother went out.

The girl didn’t mind. She loved both her new mother and Nana.

The issue was the language. She didn’t have a damned clue what they were saying. Which definitely helped sell the whole infant act. The girl was forced to cry when she needed care. The most she could muster was a half-assed wail though. Like hell, she’d be reduced to sobbing just because she needed a change. She was an independent, grown woman for hell’s sake.

What she had gathered was that she was in a completely different world than her previous one. Which took quite a while for her to digest. What clinched it was the moment she saw a rugged man transform into a giant bird right in front of her face in the market place and no one batted an eye.

Then the bright hair colors and strange features of all the people surrounding her started to make sense. The realization that she was within the pages of one of her favorite fantasy worlds was slower to come. But by the time the girl was old enough to talk she had long since realized the world of pirate, marines, and devil fruits was the world she now called home.

Growing up, Blaze was an easy child. She never cried, she brushed her own hair, and she tried to make her mother’s life as easy as possible. By the time she was five, Blaze was reading and writing in the language of her new world. Her mother was more of a roommate and most of her actual care came from Nana.

That was also the year their island was attacked by pirates. Blaze watched from the edge of the forest as her village burned. She’d been separated from her mother early on in the attack and hadn’t seen Nana at all that day.

She could hear screams and smell the smoke as the wind blew toward her. The girl was frozen, the terror saturating the air was horrifying to someone like her, who had gone two lives without experiencing fear like this. The fantasy she’d been living for the past five years fell apart in front of her eyes.

She’d known about the world she lived in, the horrors cleverly hidden in the newspapers, and the complexity of the shades of morality that existed in this world. She’d ignored it. Blatantly and without shame, Blaze had convinced herself that the ugliness of this world would never touch her on her safe little island in some forgotten corner of the Grand Line.

She was wrong. The flames gradually approaching her hiding place in the trees did well to remind her of that. If she didn’t run now, she would suffocate or burn to death.

Hesitantly, with only one look back towards where her mother and Nana were likely burning to death, Blaze turned toward the depths of the forest and took off. She didn’t know if she could outrun the flames, but she could damn well try.

——

She reached the shoreline of the opposite side of the island before the moon had fully risen. Looking back, Blaze couldn’t tell if the orange and red horizon was the sunset or the burning embers of her home.

Blaze glanced out towards the sea. There was nothing. All around her was the endless ocean and white sandy beach. She needed to find a good hiding place in case the pirates found her.

She was determinedly not thinking about her town. She wasn’t thinking about mother, Nana, her friend from the bakery, or any of the kids she played with every day.

Cowardness filled her heart but cold logic took hold of her head. She could feel bad about running tomorrow if she was still alive to regret it.

Eventually, when the full moon had risen in the sky, the girl collapsed on the seaward side of a limestone boulder. If the tide came in, she would wake. But if pirates were looking for her from the island side of the rock, she wouldn’t be seen.

She stared up at the star-filled sky and thought of nothing but the wind rustling through the trees. It was chilly, but nothing that would kill her.

She woke the next morning with the first rays of dawn. For a blissful moment, she was caught in the vestiges of sleep and lost in the world of her dreams, then cold water lapped at her feet and broke the fantasy. Her eyes opened to an unforgiving sunrise. She recalled a story her mother had once told her of her father. How his hair had blazed brighter than the sun and he’d come and gone quicker than a summer’s night.

Long enough to charm Blaze’s mother for a few hours at least. Not that her mother ever blamed him. Blaze’s mother wouldn’t have taken him even if the man had known that she had been left pregnant. Her mother was free as a bird and nothing could tie her down, not even her daughter. Apparently, her father was the same way.

Her growling stomach forced her to rise. Tentatively peaking over the boulder she’d slept under, Blaze scanned the forest for hostile pirates. All she heard was the chirping of birds. The ground was covered by low fog and a fine mist, obscuring her view and lending a spooky feeling to the beach.

The terror of the night had subsided when faced with the reality of the morning. Blaze needed food and information. Standing on shaky legs, she crept around the boulder and darted into the forest. Once more unto to breach, she thought.

Light barely penetrated the forest, creating a gloomy atmosphere the fog did nothing to dissipate. She’d barely walked ten steps into the gloom before she tripped and fell on her knees, scraping them bloody.

Hissing in pain, she looked down. It was a bunch of bananas. Hardly believing her luck, Blaze glanced up and made out a banana tree. It was too dark to see if they were fully ripe or not, but the girl hardly cared. Her growling stomach had a banana peeled and stuffed into her mouth before she could think why that might be a bad idea.

She immediately regretted the decision. Ash and death clung to her tongue and she swallowed her mouthful before reality could reassert itself.

Oh shit. oh fuck. Was that a….?

Looking down at her tingling fingertips Blaze couldn’t hold in a scream as she saw herself dissolving before her eyes. Slowly, fingertips and wrist and elbows were disappearing into a fine mist. She was disappearing into the foggy gloom that surrounded her. The more she panicked the faster she dissipated.

Less than a minute after consuming the fruit of the devil, Blaze had disappeared into the mist of the early morning sunrise.

———

Vaguely, Blaze was aware that at one point in time she had been a human. All she really cared about now, however, was how pretty flower petals looked when she draped herself over a meadow. She cared about coercing the cloud above to come down and play with her. She loved to play with the clouds and the streams in the early morning.

There was a charred, blackened stretch of land to the west of the island that she avoided. Once it had smoked, but her mist had smothered any embers long ago. Nothing fun lived over there and Blaze’s gut warned her away most of the time. That was fine though, she had the rest of the island to play with and cover with her mist.

She chased birds with misty waves and covered rabbit burrows with foggy hazes. The forest that had once only been gloomy in the early morning and late-night now lived in a perpetual state of damp darkness. A fog kept out most sunlight and mist encouraged the growth of vines and mushrooms.

Her existence was peaceful and idyllic. She fed on the honeysuckle and drank from the streams, the animals were her friends, and the sky her constant companion.

All memories of what once existed were pushed to the side, unimportant and irrelevant.

Until the day that pirates once more landed on her shores.

——

She watched them drop anchor from the safety of her forest. A pirate ship. She knew she should be wary, but she couldn’t remember why.

They came ashore in two-row boats on the west shore. They landed in the same area that once held a dock. Blaze wasn’t entirely sure she remembered what a dock was, but she knew it was something to do with ships.

A few split from the group at the shore and walked the charred town streets in silence, led by a red-haired man. Blaze was immensely curious about them. Wary too. But some distant part of her recognized that red-haired man.

Sudden movement grabbed her attention, one of the pirates, the black-haired one with the cigarette, was leaning down to brush ash off a piece of wood.

Curious, Blaze decided to float over. She was mist, nothing they would notice. She could observe freely if she moved slowly.

Fog crept from the depth of the forest and moved around the town, though the street and toward the group of pirates gathered in the ruins of the town.

She saw the piece of wood they were standing over was the name of the bar that she faintly recalled mother liked to frequent. The thought shot a pang of sadness through her for some reason.

Drifting closer, she could just make out the pirates muttering to themselves.

“…unnatural fog.” The black-haired one muttered.

“Something is watching us, captain.”Another whispered.

“A ghost?!” The fourth nearly shrieked.

“No,” the red-haired man said. “Not a ghost.”

Blaze, unworried about detection, floated closer. The red-haired man looked so familiar to her, the scars on his face triggering some long-forgotten knowledge.

Faster than she could realize, the red-haired man’s arm shot out, blackened as if covered in ash, and closed around her throat.

Blaze shrieked in surprise as she suddenly materialized for this first time in years, clothed in the same soot-stained clothes as the day her town burned. Her body was heavy as it was once more forced to obey gravity and her delicate neck was caught in an unyielding fist.

Alarmed shouts of the surrounding men filled the air. The red-haired man brought her to his chest in a gentle hold before the girl even fully realized what had happened.

She looked around her in awed surprise, solid once more. Her thoughts were a jumbled mess, the past, present, and future all tangled together in a web of confusion and grief.

“Well hello, little lady, what do we have here?” Came from the voice holding her, the rumble of his chest vibrating through her body. She glanced up. She knew that face.

The red-haired pirate holding her was none other than Red-haired Shanks, of the Red-Haired pirates. And she was not only trapped in his hold but surrounded by his crew.

Blaze couldn’t remember if her recognition of this man came from her knowledge in this life or the last.

“Where the hell did she come from?” Shrieked one of the men, the blonde one. The plump one next to him nodded along with the question, while the black-haired man just tightened his grip on his rifle.

“Relax guys, it’s just a little girl.”Shanks bounced her in his arm to support his statement. His only arm, she suddenly realized. “She’s not going to hurt anyone, are you?” he directed at her.

She looked at the men surrounding her then the warm gaze of the red-haired man, “…No.” She agreed.

“There, see? Perfectly safe.” Shanks said.

The plump one rolled his eyes while the black-haired one relaxed his grip on his rifle.

“Now, just who are you little ghost? Do you know what happened here?”

The confused little girl directed her wide-eyed gaze back toward the captain. Hesitantly, she nodded. Thoughts still jumbled, Blaze took a moment to answer.

“There were pirates who attacked one day. They burnt the village and killed everyone. I think they were looking for someone. I hid in the forest.”

“I see,” said Shanks. “When was this?”

Blaze thought for a moment, “I don’t know.” She replied. And she really didn’t. She had been in the mist for so long time had long since ceased to exist.

The was a beat of silence. “Well,” Shanks said jovially, “you must be hungry! How does sea king sound?” Without waiting for her reply the group started making their way towards the shore where they had left the rest of the crew.  
——

Blaze was actually starving. Though she didn’t realize it until she smelled the meat roasting over the fire. She leaned forward in Shanks’s arm until he was forced to set her down. She floated over to the fire, her feet barely touching the ground as her devil fruit acted up now that pirate’s Haki infused grip had left her. She would have gone up into the mist, disappearing once again for who knows how long if he hadn’t grabbed her hand once again.

“Woah hold on there, little ghost,” He said. She glanced at him then at her solid feet.

“Thanks. I don’t know how to stop it.”

“I could tell. A devil fruit, huh?”

“I guess. I thought it was just a banana.” She cringed thinking back to the taste of that cursed fruit.

“Hahahaha, what are you, an idiot?” Shanks laughed while keeping a firm grip on her hand.

Blaze glared at the man. She’d have ripped her hand from his if she wasn’t scared of dissipating again. As it was, she just turned away from him and back towards the meat roasting over the fire.

“Crew! We have a guest! Let’s show her all the hospitality the Red-Haired pirates are known for!” Shanks bellowed at his crew.

The black-haired man from before spoke up, “You sure about that, captain? She barely looks six at the most.”

“Ahh Benn, don’t worry. It’ll all be okay. I’m sure she’d older than she looks, Isn’t that right, little ghost?” He asked her.

Considering the fact that the last birthday she remembered was her fifth and she had no clue how long she’d been in the mist, Blaze elected to avoid his gaze and remain silent. Past life or not, she had no idea how long she’d been in this world. But she was certain she was older than five.

Her silence spoke for her, and Benn leveled a stern glare at the suddenly sheepish captain.

“Hey, kid, what’s your name anyway?” the blonde-haired man from before asked. “I’m Yasopp, sniper for the Red-haired pirates!” he looked at her expectantly.

She glanced around again, taking in the pirates drinking and laughing around the fire. “My name is Blaze,” she finally said.

“Blaze, huh?” Shanks murmured while looking at her. “It suits you. Especially with that red hair of yours.”

The pirates around her chuckled. “You have no room to talk, Captain,” Yasopp teased.

Shanks hummed in agreement and unceremoniously dragged her in front of him. He turned her sideways and back, squinting his eyes as he studied her. “Say little ghost… Who are your parents?” he asked.

Blaze thought about it. Her brow furrowed as she cast her mind back to what felt like a lifetime ago, before the peaceful simplicity of the mist. Her mother… Nana… but no father.

“Mama’s name was Jade, and Nana’s name was, well I don’t know what Nana’s name was. But I don’t have a dad. Mama said he was a pirate.” She mussed out loud while her thoughts tried to order themselves.

“..I see,” Shanks said while he stared at her. His gaze suddenly held a weight that hadn’t been there before.

There was an awkward silence broken only when Yasopp chimed in, “Hey kid, what exactly is your devil fruit power anyway? You appeared out of nowhere… scared the shit outta me.” he mumbled the last part.

Blaze broke her gaze from the Red-haired pirate. “I ate the Fog Fog fruit. It turned me into the fog and mist of the island and I couldn’t figure out how to turn back into a human until this guy grabbed me. How did you do that, anyway?” She asked.

“Hmm,” Shanks hummed. Still seeming lost in thought. “It’s called Haki, little ghost. I can cancel out devil fruit powers like yours with it.”

“Cool! Can you teach me?” she gestured with the hand he still held in his grip. “So I can stop disappearing?”

“It’s not that simple….but I think we have something on the ship that can help.” Shanks suddenly yelled at someone across the campfire, “Froggy, Go get the seastone cuffs from the brigg!”

“Aye, captain” came the response from a pastel green-haired man.

Blaze shot a curious look at the man. “Seastone cancels out devil fruits, just like the sea. That’ll help until you learn some control.”

The idea of seastone sounded familiar to Blaze, and she had no reason to not trust the man. She glanced at the hand he still held in a gentle grip. “Thanks.”

He glanced away from her towards the sea for a long second before looking back at her with solemn eyes. “Look, Blaze, we can’t leave you here alone on this island. You’re too young to be alone like that. Will you come with us? We can find a safe place for you.” He held her gaze as he asked. Blaze had the sudden feeling that she had missed a step. The charisma of this red-haired pirate made it hard to say no. She also had no reason to say no and didn’t really want to stay on this island anymore. Hesitantly, she nodded.

“Yeah, please take me with you.”

——-

They set off early the next morning. Blaze slept next to Shanks near the fire, with the seastone handcuffs doubled up on her left arm. They left her feeling weak, but at least she was solid and in no danger of floating away and losing herself to the fog.

Blaze liked to think she had pretty good instincts about people but she would be the first to admit she could be fairly oblivious about things, something that had followed her into this new life.

For example, she knew Shanks was a good person but it didn’t occur to her that following a strange man onto a pirate ship could be a bad idea. Omitting her death, reincarnation, the destruction of her home, and the subsequent years spent in the mist, nothing really bad ever happened to her.

Well… nothing she couldn’t move on from anyway. Or suppress until forgotten. And once she forgot about it, then it didn’t really matter anyway, right?

Shanks set her up on a pile of blankets in a corner of the captain’s quarters once they boarded his ship, the Red Force. It was a big ship, with red detailing all over and palm trees towards the stern.

She didn’t have anything to bring with her so she followed after the Red-haired pirate as he shouted orders to set sail. Watching him was intriguing to the girl. He was a story come to life. His voice echoed around the ship and his hair shone under the morning light. There was something intimately familiar about him and Blaze couldn’t quite put her finger on it.

She settled under one of the palm trees while the crew readied the ship, hoping to stay out of the way. Only once the sails had caught a strong wind and pushed the shop away from the island did she raise her eyes from to crew back towards her home. She wasn’t sure she’d ever see it again. Blaze turned her eyes toward the open sea. There wasn’t anything left for her on that island.

——-  
Benn and Shanks stared at the little girl dozing under the palm trees on deck from the railing by the helm. Benn kept looking between the kid and his captain like he couldn’t quite believe his eyes. Shanks was aware his first mate had something he wanted to say but the captain really couldn’t tear his gaze from the red-haired child.

“Captain,” Benn started, hesitating in a way that conveyed he didn’t actually want to be saying this out loud. “That girl is your spitting image.

Shanks sighed, breaking his gaze from the child to look at his first mate. “Yeah, I know. But I’ve not been to that island in years and she looks five or so. Something’s not adding up.”

“We need an answer that we’ll only get by talking to her.”

Shanks was quiet, the wind ruffling his hair as he looked back at the kid. Without further hesitation he started to head toward her, Benn following just behind him.

The girl startled from her doze as the men sat down next to her. She aimed a suspicious look at them both that only looked adorable on her sleepy face. “Whaddya want?” She grumbled.

“Hahaha, is that any way to talk to the pirates who saved your life?” Blaze grunted in response.

“We had some questions for you, kid,” Benn interjected before his captain could get carried away. “How old are you?”

Blaze squinted. “I don’t know. What year is it?”

The man’s eyes widened, “what do you mean? you don’t know the year?”

“No. I was caught in the mist for a long time. I lost track.”

“It’s 1513, May,” Benn said.

“Well I was born in 1505 so then I must be…“ Blaze trailed off, counting on her fingers. “7 or 8.”

“You sure are tiny for a 7-year-old, shrimp,” Shanks said. “You said your mom’s name was Jade, right? and no father?”

“Yeah, that’s right. Mama said I was sea child.”

Shanks chuckled awkwardly when Benn gave him a sidelong look.

“I think I stopped growing when I was caught in the mist. Can’t grow if you don’t have a body.” Blaze shrugged. Her body hadn’t matched her true age since she was born in the world, a few more years off was annoying but nothing to truly get upset over.

“You said the pirates who attacked your town were looking for something. Do you know what it was?” Benn asked.

“No clue. It was just a normal town. We used to get a lot of visitors who came for our special sake, but nobody has set foot since the fire. Except for you all.”

“Strange. I remember this town as a thriving port. It used to be an easy place to restock on the grand line if you knew how to find it.” Shanks said.

“Oh, you’ve been here before, Shanks?” Blaze asked.

He looked at her again with a strange look in his eye. “Yeah little ghost, I used to come here with my captain when I was younger. I’ve not been back in 8 or so years though.”

Blaze shrugged. “It was a good town. Good people.”

“Yeah,” Shanks agreed. “It was.”

——

They had only been sailing for a couple of days before the peace was interrupted by another pirate crew trying to board the Red Force. Blaze was in the crow’s nest with Yasopp by the time the other ship was in range and watched from relative safety as the Red-haired Pirates wiped the floor with the opposing crew.

Blaze was surprised this no-name crew had the gall to attack one of the four emperors of the sea but as she observed the crew fighting she came to a slow realization.

Shanks was not yet a Yonko. He was in his late 20s if she had to guess, missing an arm already so he’d met Luffy, but not yet conquered the Grand Line.

It was a weird thought. To see the legend before he achieved his infamy. As Yasopp took aim and watched his crew’s back from the crow’s nest, Blaze glanced at him and wondered how old Usopp was now and how long it’d been since the man had seen his son.

Blaze had never put much stock in fathers, in this life or the last. Both lives she had been raised by a single mother and grew to be an independent, flighty individual. In fact, she wasn’t entirely surprised to have lost herself in the mist because Blaze never really had anything tying her down in this world.

If she wanted to control her devil fruit powers, she needed an anchor.

Too bad she had no clue what it could be.

After the defeat of the other crew, Shanks ordered his men to take all the other crew’s treasure and alcohol. In all, they were sailing away from the defeated ship in under an hour.

Blaze was impressed. The red-haired pirates were just as cool in person as she remembered them being in her old life.

——

Blaze often found herself in the company of the captain. He was just so easy to be around, full of laughter and endless stories. She often found herself cuddled up to his side on the evenings the crew gathered on deck to eat and party.

If she wasn’t following the captain around, she was pestering Yasopp to teach her to use a slingshot or Benn let her borrow his books and pestering him when she couldn’t figure out what a new world meant. She was determined to increase her comprehension of this new language but damn it all if the language wasn’t complicated.

One day, a week or two after they left her island, she brought up the issue of where they were going.

“Wherever the wind takes us!” Shanks replied.

“You mean the log pose?” She deadpanned

“Hahaha snarky today, are we?”

Blaze look over at Benn, who grinned at her. “Our next stop is Apple Island, famed for its namesake and cider. Captain wants to stock up on a few barrels before we hit a winter island.”

“Oh, is that where you are leaving me?” She asked. As nice as the Red-Haired Pirates were, Blaze was sure they were eager to get rid of her. She was a kid and knew well that a pirate ship was no place for her.

“Hahaha,” Shanks laughed. It had a weird edge to it though, a slightly desperate tone that caused Blaze to side-eye him. “No nono, we can’t leave you there. It wouldn’t be safe, you see?”

Benn spoke up, “It’s actually a pretty nice island, not too different from your home island. And Shanks does know the mayor.” The first mate maintained direct eye contact with the captain as he spoke. Blaze looked between them sure she was missing something.

“Oh well, in that case, you can just drop me off. I’m sure I’ll be fine… maybe I can find work in a bar or something…“ She trailed off. the logistics of making money when she looked five was something she preferred not to think about.

“Nope, little ghost! No can do.” Shanks said firmly, avoiding both her and Benn’s eyes. “You have to stay with us for now. Can’t leave you here.”

She shot him a weird look. “Ookkaayy,” she drawled. He was being super weird. Whatever, she didn’t really care either way.

Well. That was a lie. Should like to stay with the crew a little longer. She liked them.

____

They docked on Apple island in a cove hidden from the sight of the docks and a half-hour walk to the town square. Apparently, the best cider was made from an orchard perched on the mountain and the brewery was in the opposite direction of the town. Half the group went to town to stock up on supplies while the other half went hiking up the mountains, with a few left behind on the ship to keep watch.

Blaze decided to go with the group headed for town. She needed new clothes and Yasopp said he’d take her shopping. Shanks and Benn went up the mountain to get the cider. She’d been rotating between her old soot-stained clothes and one of Shank’s old shirts for the past couple of weeks and was in desperate need of new clothes.

She was lucky the captain had given Yasopp a bag of beri for her to spend. He was such a nice guy, that captain.

The walk to town was filled with Yasopp’s stories of his son and wife, Bachina. It left the girl contemplative. If she remembered correctly, Bachina died when Usopp was pretty young and she didn’t know if Yasopp ever knew that his son basically grew up an orphan, fantasizing about his pirate father coming home one day to save them both. Or just him, after the death of his moth.

She understands that in this world, parents were much more hands-off with their children. It wasn’t just her mother, most kids were looked after by the community or relatives if the parents worked or weren’t around. When she cast her mind back to the story she knew, she didn’t really recall any of the characters she’d once read about being raised to adulthood by their biological parents.

Even the Princess of Alabasta was raised by her father’s advisors as much as King Cobra, and she’d taken off when she was 14 or 15 to go undercover in a den of vipers.

People matured much more quickly here. Blaze theorized it had to do with the wild, untamed nature of the sea that surrounded them. It's hard to enforce order and hegemony on unconnected islands in a world filled with devil fruit, haki, and general insanity.

They arrived in Apple Town and split from the group. A bell jingled over the door as Yasopp and her entered the clothing store.

“Welcome, sir,” the attendant called out. “and you too, little ma’am.”

Yasopp rubbed this back of his neck sheepishly while pushing her forward. “Ah thank you. Just looking for some new clothes for my niece here.”

Niece? she thought. Well, it’s a good cover story as any.

“Of course, right this way.” they followed after the attendant. “We have some lovely dresses over here.” Blaze made a face. She couldn’t climb the rigging in dresses. Well, she could technically but Shanks wouldn’t like it. He was so proper for a pirate when it came to her. The man was such a weirdo, it was starting to get annoying.

Yasopp pulled out a frilly monstrosity with a grin, “Bachina and I always wanted a daughter.”

“Put that back if you value your life.” She glared.

The attendant laugh. “A tomboy huh?”

Blaze wasn’t really a tomboy, she loved cute dresses as much as the next girl. But she was practical. She reached out for some denim shorts and a blue tank top with a pretty red pattern. Practical and cute. By the time they left, she’d picked out several other blue tops, a red sweater, two pairs of shorts, and a winter set of matching clothes. Yasopp convinced her to buy some boots covered in buckles and a wide-brimmed straw hat.

She hesitated over the hat. She wasn’t Luffy after all. She had no right to wear a straw hat. But then again, it really was just a hat. No heavy weight of destiny attached. Yasopp made a good case when he said she needed something to protect her eyes, plus, “the captain will love it and it looks good on you!”

They left happy and headed for a nearby food stall loaded down with bags. It was a good day.

A commotion caught their attention from down the street. A large figure was running towards them being chased by several marines. People started yelling and jumping to the side to get out of the way. Yasopp started to pull her into a side alley to avoid notice and get them out of the way when the large figure running from the marines suddenly appeared in front of them, snatched her from his grip and spun to face the marines. “Hold it! Stop or I’ll kill this girl!” He yelled as he held a knife to her throat.

Blaze froze in fear. What the hell. The marines finally caught up to them and screeched to a halt. “Pirate scum! Let her go. She just a child!” one of the marines yelled out.

Faster than Blaze could realize something whizzed past her face and she was flung to the ground. At first, she thought Yasopp had shot the guy but glancing up she saw the man laid out on the ground with a cannonball smooshing his face in.

What the fuck. She thought. She looked around for Yasopp and saw him running towards her from the same alley he’d tried to hide her in. He’d almost reached her before he skidded to a stop and his face paled dramatically. She felt large hands hooking under her arms and lifting her at the same time.

Blaze looked into the grizzled gaze of a huge marine from under her straw hat and really started to question fate.

“You okay, brat?” Garp the fist asked.

Hesitantly she nodded. “Yes, thank you.” Never hurt to be polite after all.

He squinted at her. “You look awfully familiar. Do I know you?” He brought her closer and turned her sideways then held her at arm’s length. It reminded her of the way Shanks had looked at her that night in front of the campfire what felt like ages ago.

“No?” she questioned.

At the moment, Yasopp seemed to steel his spine and reached for her. “Thank you so much for saving my niece! You marines sure are heroes.” Blaze leveled an incredulous look at the pirate. He was laying it on a little thick.

“Bwahaha,” Garp laughed. “That’s right! Hey little one, you should join the marines!” He ignored the arms reaching for her and tucked her instead into his chest. Yasopp’s arms fell limply to his sides. “I’ll help walk you to your parents.” Blaze started to sweat. Yasopp’s wide-eyed gaze was darting side to side desperately searching for a crew member to make eye contact with.

“Lieutenant! Take charge and clean up that pirate trash!” He bellowed and started walking towards to dock. “You remind me of my grandson, girl. What your name?”

Blaze thought about lying for exactly zero seconds. This was Garp the fist. She wasn’t changing anything. “Blaze, sir. and that’s my uncle Ya… Yamoto.” Well, maybe she'd change one thing. She didn't know if Yasopp had a bounty yet, but judging by the way he'd approached Garp, she was guessing not.

Garp trained his beady black eyes on Yasopp who was sweating bullets. Shakily, he spoke up. “Hah.. ha.. ah no need to walk us. We don’t want to take your time….”

“Nonsense! A marines times is never wasted helping innocent children. Especially future marines! Bwahaha.” Garp laughed. Blaze was very intimidated. Despite the fact his hold never tightened, Blaze had the feeling someone was being threatened and she couldn’t figure out if it was her or Yasopp.

Just then her stomach growled. Blaze blushed. Damn her body, betraying her like that. Garp laughed again. “Time for lunch!” He changed direction, heading towards a food stall. Looking over his large shoulder, Blaze gave Yasopp a truly bewildered stare. All the poor sniper could do was shrug helplessly.

——

Meanwhile, halfway down a mountain and lugging several crates of hard cider, Shanks suddenly felt an ominous warning tingle down his spine. It was followed shortly by one of the newer members of his crew running from up the path that led to the town shouting wildly about marines and kidnapping.

“Captain! CAPTAIN! It’s terrible! Garp the Fist is here!! And he’s kidnapped Blaze and Yasopp!” the man yelled as he came closer. Shanks dropped the barrel he was holding and barely noticed as it broke at his feet. His heart seemed to drop with it and he took off in the direction of the town. He could hear Benn behind him barking orders for the crew to get ready to set sail and then dashing off after his captain.

Shanks reached the town in minutes, already spreading his senses out to search for Blaze. There! By the docks, right next to Yasopp and the bright aura Shanks recognized as Garp.

He rounded a corner in time to see Garp clothesline Yasopp with Blaze clutched tight to his chest.

“Yo Garp!” He yelled. “Unhand my daughter! And fight me yourself like a real man!”

Garp grinned. “I knew little Blaze looked familiar.” The Marine picked up a nearby table with one hand and flung it towards the pirate captain. “You’re years too young to talk me to me like that, damned brat!”

Shanks slashed the table in two and advanced forward. “Let her go, Garp,” he demanded.

“You think you can just go around corrupting people’s grandsons into becoming pirates and be upset when someone does the same to you! NO! This girl is going to grow up to be a fine marine. No use leaving her with Pirate Scum like you BRAT!” Garp punctuated his points by slinging several chairs and even a potted plant at Shanks who was forced to deflect and slice the suddenly deadly projectiles.

“What the hell are you talking about, you crazy old man?” Shanks shouted. "You finally lost your mind?"

“You know what I’m talking about! My poor, stupid grandson Luffy thinks he’s going to be the king of the Pirates thanks to you. OVER MY DEAD BODY! HE’S. GOING. TO. BE. A. MARINE.” Garp bellowed as he continued his assault, now with apples from a nearby fruit stand.

Shanks didn’t have a moment to process that bombshell before he noticed Blaze dissolving in Garp’s arms. She was gone before the marine had a chance to react and her sea stone cuffs dropped to the ground, unlatched with the key she carried around her neck. The whole area suddenly had a heavy fog. Shanks could sense Yasopp hightailing it out of there with Benn and knew it was time to go.

Sheathing his sword, he reached out with his Haki, a blackened arm snapped out and closed around a thin wrist. Pulling her to his chest, Shanks took off with the precious cargo held tightly in his grip, Garps angry bellows echoing in his ears.

The three pirates reached the ship in record time, their retreat covered by a heavy fog. Hopping aboard, Shanks started yelling orders to set sail.

——

Blaze was confused. One second she was happily shopping and the next Garp the Fist and Shanks are fighting over her and the red-haired captain is calling her his daughter?

What? That was out of left field. Is it the same cover story as being Yasopp’s niece? But why would he tell that to Garp of all people….

Shanks hadn’t set her down yet, and since she’d lost her seastone cuffs escaping from Garp, that was probably a good thing. She stayed quiet as they fled the marines and the hectic atmosphere faded into the background as the girl got lost in her thoughts.

She had red hair like Shanks, he’d been to her island eight or so years ago, likely around the time of her conception. Garp looked at her and saw Shanks. Yasopp bought her a straw hat and called himself her uncle. The Red-Haired pirates were taking her, a random girl, somewhere safe. Safe from what? Enemies of her father? She squinted suspiciously up at him.

“Are you my dad?” She accused. Already sure she was probably right. Blaze considered herself too smart to not put things together quickly.

Shanks looked down at her, the afternoon sun setting his hair ablaze. “Umm.. well you see… I think I probably am?” he ended in a questioning tone.

“You think?” She pressed.

“Well, I did know you mother. And we did…well you kind of look just like me. Especially with that hat. Hahaha, it’s no wonder Garp recognized you. You look just like me when I was a kid and Garp’s known me since I was nine or so. You have Jade’s eyes though. And her suspicious glare now that I think about it…“ he trailed off.

“Why didn’t you tell me? We’ve been sailing together for weeks!” Blaze could admit to being slightly upset at the man. At the same time, she was freaking out internally. Her? The daughter of a Yonko? that was a dangerous position to hold. Especially with the marines now aware of her.

Shanks let out a slightly hysterical laugh. “I didn’t know how.”

“That’s a terrible excuse!”

“I know, I know. Forgive me?” he pleaded with looking at her with big, soulful puppy dog eyes.

“…“

"..."

“Ugh fine! But I want double dessert for 2 weeks!”

“1 Week!”

“Deal!”

Blaze nodded, content. It’s not like it really changed anything. They were still dropping her off at the nearest safe spot, this encounter with the marines cemented that.

——-

Shanks started telling her more personal stories after that. About growing up and joining the Roger Pirates. He talked at length about the boy he’d met in the East Blue, Monkey D Luffy. If she’d been a normal child she’d probably be jealous or at least angry at the boy who had both captured her father’s attention and cost him an arm.

She was a former adult though and had too much perspective to be jealous of a fellow sea child.

In turn, she told him about her childhood. Mentioning her mother, Nana, the bakery she loved, and then about her years spent in the mist. How she loved covering the petals of flowers delicately enough to make them shine in the sun and all her animal friends she chased around.

Together they worked on her control. She’d lost their only pair of seastone cuffs so now they started every day with control exercises. With his help, she actually got the basics down fairly quickly. A lot of it was instinctual, she’d just never really listened to her instincts before.

Blaze had a theory it was because, in her last life, she’d been forced to ignore her instinct so often it had become a habit. This new life that relied heavily on instinct for survival did not match well with the highly developed and tame world she originated from.

Life of the sea was something Blaze thought she could get used to. There was always something to be done, some new skill to hear or a story to hear. When she wasn’t training with her dad (and how weird was it to think of him like that? she’d never had a dad in either life) she was learning navigation or reading a book or practicing aiming with her new slingshot.

The peace didn’t last. A week after fleeing Apple Island, a small dark boat approached the Red Force. A shout from the crow’s nest echoed around the ship, “Hawk’s eyes spotted off the port side!”

Shanks came up to her side as she stared at the small boat as it approached. Was that really a coffin? That guy looked like a vampire.

Her father set his hand on her shoulder, “That’s my friend Mihawk. You’ll like him, he’s serious like you. Just don’t get too close, okay?” She nodded. She’d seen what he could do with that giant sword of his. No way was she getting close.

“Yo Mihawk!” the captain shouted out. “Long time no see. What have you been up to?”

Dracule Mihawk narrowed his gaze and threw a rope so fast it lassoed itself around the railing before he jumped up after it and glared murder at her father.

“Where is your arm?”

“Hahaha right here! What, are you blind?” Shanks laughed as he waved his only arm in the air. Blaze edged away from him. Her father obviously had a death wish. She moved not a moment too soon because a slash rent the air in two mere moments later. A ferocious clanging rang in the air as her father’s sword met the sword of the world’s greatest swordsman. The sound echoed out around the sea, power radiating off the single blow.

Blaze was sure she would never forget the sound. It was the single most powerful thing she’d ever witnessed, and she’d just seen Garp the Fist take out a pirate with a cannonball.

The girl blinked and then Mihawk was sheathing his sword. “I will not fight a one-armed swordsman.”

Shanks blinked, sword still suspended mid-air. “What- wait, really?”

“No,” Mihawk deadpanned.

Blaze couldn’t help letting out a snicker at the bewildered look on her father’s face. He looked so dumb. It was hard to think of him being powerful with his jaw hanging open like that.

Mihawk shifted his gaze to her and she froze. A single, finely groomed brow lifted as he looked at her, taking in her red hair, cute nose, and straw hat. He looked back at Shanks. “You procreated.” he accused.

Shanks shrugged and laughed. “Men! bring out the beer. Time to party and celebrate.” He grinned at Mihawk. “Stay awhile and I’ll tell you all about it.” He winked.

Blaze suddenly realized her father was flirting with the swordsman and it filled her with a sort of detached horror. Like watching your parent kiss, it made her squirm in discomfort.

Mihawk scowled at him. “What are you celebrating, Red Hair. Your defeat and loss of your arm, you fool?”

“Don’t be like that, Mihawk. I bet that arm on the next generation. I don’t regret it a bit.”

Mihawk glanced at Blaze again before lowering himself to a chair that had just been brought out as the crew dropped anchor and prepared for a party on the open seas. The captain plopped himself unceremoniously into a chair next to him.

Blaze was immensely curious about the man. She settled on the deck near their feet and shamelessly eavesdropped as they caught up over the past two years since they’d seen each other.

——-

Shanks cradled his daughter in his arms as he spoke lowly to Mihawk, one of his oldest friends. She was sleeping deeply, long since passed out as the party raged later and she flagged. She’d migrated from sitting at his feet, then perched on his knee, and finally sleeping against his chest over the course of the night. Shanks adjusted seamlessly without pausing in his conversation. Mihawk’s sharp eyes missed nothing.

Now, in the dim light of the new moon, the two men were the only ones still awake.

“You can’t keep her on your ship, Shanks,” Mihawk said. “A pirate ship is no place for a child.”

“I know that better than most,” Shanks said, thinking back to his childhood after Roger took him in. Shanks wasn’t as strong as the king of the pirates though, he couldn’t protect a kid. Garp had thrown that in his face at the last island.

A sudden thought occurred to the man, “Say.. you wouldn’t happen to have a dark and gloomy castle hidden from the government on an uninhabited island floating about, Would you?”

Mihawk leveled a flat look at the man. “No.”

“Come on, you owe me for that time in Alabasta.”

“That was ten years ago. And the marines would have caught you if I hadn’t been there. It does not equal raising your child for you.” Mihawk replied.

Shanks grumbled. “Well, it was worth a shot.”

A comfortable silence fell between them. “I was actually thinking about Shakky and Silvers.”

“Sabaody? Those are dangerous waters for a child.”

“Shakky lives in the lawless zone. Blaze should be safe from Marines there. And Rayleigh can train her. She told me once they’d wanted children but couldn’t have any.” Shanks rationalized. In truth, he’d put a lot of thought into this. If it was possible, he’d have turned around and left her with Luffy in the East Blue, safe in the most peaceful of the oceans.

“Hmm,” Mihawk hummed, neither agreeing nor disagreeing.

“I don’t want to leave her anywhere at all,” Shank confessed. Guilty for just the thought when 3 months ago he didn’t even know she existed.

Mihawk said nothing for a moment. Finally, “You just have to get strong enough to protect her then.”

Mihawk was gone when Blaze woke up. Sailed off before the sun rose according to her dad. With “He isn’t much for crowds, old hawk eyes,” the only explanation given.  
———-

It took another month for the Red Force to reach the Sabaody Archipelago. Blaze learned more about the world in that month than her entire life so far. Her father had a terrible knack for getting in trouble at every island that stopped at. It was truly ridiculous, and if she didn’t know what world she’d been born in, she would have been tempted to hold it against him.

As it was, this world was insane and she was now intimately acquainted with that fact.

She had a pretty firm grasp on her devil fruit now. Able to remain solid without issue and capable of summoning anything from a light mist to heavy fog. She was still brainstorming how it could be used foroffense, but Blaze was sure she’d think of something.

The night before they’d arrived at Sabaody, the crew gather to throw her a goodbye party. Shanks was dropping her off on this island with someone he trusted. She didn’t know when she would see her father again but Blaze had a feeling it would be years.

The thought left a heavy weight in her stomach. She’d known him a short time but already loved him dearly. In this entirely new world, he was her only family. As the only father she’d ever had, Blaze was attached.

He let her ride on his shoulders as they walked ashore. Her waving back at the crew for a final time and them shouting their farewells in an unharmonious ruckus.

They stopped to rent a bike and Shanks showed her how to ride the mangrove bubbles. She was glad when he let her ride with him. No need to separate early. This way she could stay next to him.

It took a long time to reach their destination. It turned out to be a bar in the middle of a bad part of the archipelago. Shakky’s Rip-Off Bar.

The name was familiar to the girl, but she couldn’t put her finger on where she’d heard it before.

Shanks carried her up the steps in silence, her clinging to his neck. A bell chimed as they entered. It was a surprisingly clean place. A woman with short black hair was smoking a cigarette behind the bar, she looked up as they entered and Blaze barely made out an expression of surprise before she masked it.

“Well, what do we have here? If it isn’t little Red-haired Shanks. Missing an arm and with a new mini-Shanks… What a surprise.”

“Shakky! Nice to see you. This is Blaze, my daughter. Is Ray here?” Shanks grinned. Blaze waved lightly at the women. She quickly replaced the arm around her dad’s neck though, she felt like he was going to disappear any moment.

“He is,” Shakky said placidly.

“Ah, great. I have a favor to ask,” he said.

“I think I can guess what it might be.” the women replied with a glance at Blaze. Shanks chuckled awkwardly. Her father was such a dork at times, she really did love him.

“Are you hungry, mini-Shanks? I have soup in the back. My name is Shakky, this is my bar.”

“Nice to meet you, Miss Shakky. Yes, please. How do you know Shanks?” She asked, curious about the relationship.

She laughed a husky thing that Blaze found herself charmed by. “I used to be a pirate. I knew his old captain well back in the day.”

“Really? I bet you have a ton of cool stories.”

“That I do, little one.” She replied as she sat a bowl in front of both redheads.

Shanks and Shakky caught up while they waited for Ray. The longer they sat there the more Blaze remembered so she wasn’t so surprised when the man himself showed up.

Silvers Rayleigh was a lot bigger in person than she’d been expecting. But according to her dad’s stories, he’d practically raised Shanks and his fellow cabin boy, Buggy. All that she knew about him told her that he wasn’t a bad person but Blaze could tell he was powerful just from looking at him. He actually reminded her a lot of Garp.

“Ray!” Shanks exclaimed as he jumped up from his seat next to her to embrace the man coming in the door.

“Well look who it is, little Red-Haired Shanks. It’s been a long time. And what the hell happened to your arm?” Rayleigh said as he stepped back from Shanks and took him by the shoulders.

“Ah, I’ll tell you all about it. But first, I have someone I want you to meet.” Shanks turned toward her and gestured with his hand, “Rayleigh, this is my daughter Blaze. Blaze, this is Sivers Rayleigh, my old crewmate.” He had a proud little smile on his face, looking pleased to be introducing her.

Rayleigh took her in, from the tips of her boots to her straw hat covered head. “Why hello, little missy. Aren’t you quite the little surprise?”

“Hi,” Blaze waved. She was getting that a lot lately.

The silver-haired man turned back towards Shanks, “are you even old enough to have kids? Seas, where has the time gone. It seems like only yesterday Roger and I were picking you up from some gutter in the Grand Line.”

“Hey!” Shanks replied. “I’ll have you know I’m 28 now. A grown adult.”

All three of them snickered in response. Even Blaze knew the emphasis Shanks had tried to place on those words only came off as petulant. And she was supposed to be the child, HA!

“You’re still a brat, brat.” Rayleigh chuckled while settling down next to her. With her dad on one side and Rayleigh on the other, Blaze was feeling very tiny all of a sudden. Neither men were small, Rayleigh corded with muscle and her father towering over most. Suddenly, Blaze really missed the 3 years of growing she’d lost while caught in the mist.

“Why are you here Shanks? I can’t imagine it's a social call.” Rayleigh asked.

“It's not. I need a favor. Blaze needs somewhere safe to stay. I’m headed to the New World and as much as I want to hide her in the hull of the ship and take her with me, I know I can’t.” Shanks sighed heavily as if the weight of the world was on his shoulders.

“You want us to take her in?” Rayleigh asked.

Blaze suddenly piped up, the sight of her father looking so despondent didn’t sit right with her. “I’m very good at cleaning and cooking, and I can help with the bar. I promise not to be a bother if you look after me.” She directed her words at the mostly silent Shakky. Regardless of Rayleigh's strength, Blaze could tell that he would do what ever the woman wanted.

Shakky blew out a ring of smoke as she looked at her. “What a cute kid,” she said. Blaze scowled a bit, she got the feeling Shakky was making fun of her.

“Isn’t she just the cutest?!” Shanks suddenly exclaimed, scooping her into his lap with his arm. “My little mini-me is just the more adorable, serious, smartest little ghost girl I’ve ever seen!”

Blaze could feel herself turning red and she tried to push away his sudden nuzzling. “Stoooppp, stupid!”She complained.

Rayleigh and Shakky laughed at her attempts. “She is pretty cute,” the man agreed. The couple exchanged a long look between them, communicating in a way only people who knew each other backward and forward could. Finally, Rayleigh spoke up. “Okay,” he agreed. “We’ll look after her until you're strong enough to do it yourself or she sets sail.”

Shanks seemed to sag into himself in relief. “Thank you,” he said. “I’ll owe you one forever.”

Rayleigh waved him off. “Whats a little babysitting between crew members?”

“I’ve always wanted a cute little girl to play dress-up with. How exciting!” Shakky chimed in.

Blaze felt a relieved sadness wash through her. Deep down she’d been holding out the hope that her dad would be forced to take her with him. It was selfish of her and she’d never voiced the thought out loud. It’d just been a little voice in the back of her head, begging to stay with her new family on the Red Force.

She knew she was a burden on her father though. And she was happy Shakky and Rayleigh were kind enough to take her in.

——

Shanks talked with Rayleigh well into the night, Shakky a silent observer. Blaze eventually fell asleep in her father’s hold, a familiar comfort after months together.

The red-haired captain knew how deep of a sleeper she was by now but still spoke quietly as he filled Ray in on what he knew about her situation.

“She’s older than she looks. My guess would be 7, almost 8. She’s eaten a devil fruit. When I found her she’d been caught in an incorporeal state for 3 or so years. She lost all sense of self and time. We’ve had a hell of a time training some control into her. Its the Fog Fog Fruit”

“The Fog Fog fruit? I’ve never heard of it but water-based fruits are rare. The only active one I know of is that ice fellow in the marines. Useful as hell though, these logia types.” Ray said.

“Yeah, my hope is she can figure out how to let things pass straight through her or become incorporeal and retain her awareness. She’s young, smart as a whip though. She sure gave my first mate a run for his money with all her questions.”

“I’m sure she’ll settle fine here, Shanks. No need to worry.”

Shanks gave a humorless laugh. “I’d worry if she was trapped in a fortress and under guard constantly. It's a parent’s prerogative. That's no way to live though, I know that much.”

“True enough. I’ll train her up some, teach her haki if she’s got the knack for it. You have some of the strongest conquerors I’ve ever seen. Maybe it runs in the family.”

Shanks let out a huge gust of air as he looked down at his daughter. She was drooling all over him but she really was his spitting image. Except for her eyes, of course, jade green, just like her mother. “Hopefully.”

“There was something else. The pirates that destroyed her town were looking for something. She couldn’t tell me anything about it, but it's something to keep an ear out for. just in case.”

Ray agreed easily. “Shakky and I will snoop around, see if we can find anything.”

“Okay. What else? Umm, she’s pretty self-sufficient but she loves to be close to people. Make sure you hug her every day-“

“Alright brat, that’s enough out of you.” Ray interrupted what was sure to devolve into rambles. “You and the kid can crash in the guest room. I’ll start coating your ship tomorrow. You can spend the next three days together. Maybe take her to the park or something”

“Follow me,” Shakky said. “I’ll show you the guest room.”

Shanks stood up to follow her. “Thank you, again. I can never repay you for this.”

Ray leveled a steady look at him. “Don’t mention it, brat.”

———-

Blaze saw her father off as he left for Fishman island from the shores of the mangroves while clutching Rayleigh’s hand. Uncle Ray, as he insisted she call him, gave her hand a little comforting squeeze.

They’d spent the last three days together, her and her father. He took her shopping, to the park, all around the lawless district, and even trained with her in a secluded meadow behind Shakky’s bar.

Blaze would go so far as to say it had been the best three days of her new life.

They’d gotten all their tears out of the way last night so all that was left for the send-off were watery smiles and fond “see you laters.”

She looked up at Ray as the Red Force faded out of sight beneath the waves. “Soo…“ she hummed. “What now?”

He smiled down at her. He really was a nice old man. “Now we get back to Shakky for some lunch. And I think you have some shopping to unpack”

She grinned at the reminder. Her father had definitely gone overboard on the shopping spree.

As forlorn as she was about her time with her dad ending, she felt like this was the beginning of a new chapter of her life.

She had no clue what it would bring, but she was excited to face it.

———-

**Author's Note:**

> Edited for grammar on 2/20/2021


End file.
